"Try this experiment. The next time your dog is participating in some out of control behavior like barking at the door or jumping up on you, do nothing. Not the nothing that most owners do, but a real, purposeful nothing that sends the message, “I am actively not responding to you.”
That means, don’t look at the dog; don’t talk to the dog; don’t move. Just stand there, arms folded and looking away. Give it a good couple of minutes if need be. I’d love to hear what happens. (When you do this, please be mindful of any wonderful thing your dog might do. If he sits, is quite, or both...please remember to tell him he’s wonderful! Rinse and repeat.)"
I confess I walloped Sherlock today...on the butt, for barking wildly at the door as I try to attach leashes, put on my shoes and clip on my poopie belt and get the water ready..it all just got to be too much. He got the message. Hmmm. I feel awful... Will continue with positive reinforcement, clicker and treats as my state of mind permits...meanwhile reading all I can get on the gentle methods to give me hope...today's calendar quote tells me to "persevere without giving up" (bit of a tautology, how do you persevere and give up?). Life goes on...I'll give Cindy's advice a try tomorrow...
...and of course Ian Dunbar on the peewees issue, which is also still not quite as perfect as I would wish.
It's like Sherlock will bark madly at you to get you to go walkies when he thinks it's about time, even though I've successfully taken the dogs out about half an hour before when I got home for treats and peewees in the garden. When I ignore him, saying I'm tired and not ready to go yet, he'll go peewees in the house even when the doors are all open and the garden is available, I'm thinking he has used this technique in the past to make a point or get his way/attention, as it were...like after food, if I don't open the cage immediately, he will pee in the cage...and unfortunately Claire is beginning to kind of follow suit with poopies or peewees in the house to protest not being taken walkies...even though it's not raining, the garden is available and she knows to go outside....yikes. We shall overcome!
Photos by Jakob Miyajima
It's like Sherlock will bark madly at you to get you to go walkies when he thinks it's about time, even though I've successfully taken the dogs out about half an hour before when I got home for treats and peewees in the garden. When I ignore him, saying I'm tired and not ready to go yet, he'll go peewees in the house even when the doors are all open and the garden is available, I'm thinking he has used this technique in the past to make a point or get his way/attention, as it were...like after food, if I don't open the cage immediately, he will pee in the cage...and unfortunately Claire is beginning to kind of follow suit with poopies or peewees in the house to protest not being taken walkies...even though it's not raining, the garden is available and she knows to go outside....yikes. We shall overcome!
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